Councillor Chinyanta’s ideal world for women…

By ANN ZULU

A WORLD where women are empowered to improve themselves, their families and the society as a whole, is a kind of world that Patriotic Front (PF) Matero ward 23 in Matero Constituency Councillor Annie Chinyata envisions.

Councillor Chinyanta handing over a bag of mealie meal

Ms Chinyanta, who is also the only female councillor in the constituency has sacrificed her monthly salary towards women empowerment in her ward.

Matero ward 23 has a population of about 60,000 and majority of the population are women.

Most of the women in area are widows and single mothers, who struggle every day to sustain themselves and their families.

Earlier this year, Government raised councillors’ allowances from K700 to K3, 000 to enable them discharge their civic duties efficiently and effectively.

But Ms Chinyata told this reporter that she thought extending this good gesture to her community and to women in particular who were in need more than she was, was the best thing to do.

She said she had decided to use her monthly salary to buy rice from Kasama and distribute it to women in her ward to sell as a way of empowering them.

“I have seen how women are suffering in my ward, most of them are widows, single mothers and for some who are married, their husbands are not doing anything.

“So when Government decided to start giving us salaries, I thought as a Civic leader it was my responsibility to try and do something for the women in my ward that would help them in improving themselves, their families and the country at large.

“I recently discovered that we have very good rice growing in Kasama, so I thought of bringing it on the market and distribute it to women to sell,” Ms Chinyanta said.

She said so far 30 women had benefitted from the project and intends to extend the number.

Ms Chinyanta also wishes to partner with the corporate world in the project, as she believes that the corporate world plays a vital role in uplifting the livelihood of the people.

“I have started with 30 women, but the number will increase as we go on with the programme. I am also looking forward to engaging the corporate world but I thought I should first lead by example by sacrificing my salary,” she said.

Ms Chinyanta noted that lot of women in her ward were uneducated due to lack of finances to access education.

She said the project would also help the women to take themselves to school.

“As I go round interacting with women in my community, I found that some of them have the zeal to go back to school but they have no means of financial support. So I thought by empowering them they would also take themselves to school,” she said.

She further urged people in her community not to be too reliant on Government, but instead find ways of empowering themselves.

“A word to my community is that Government will not do everything for us, and as much as government is creating jobs, it cannot cater for everyone.

“So I feel as community, we should be hardworking and we should stand up on our two feet’s and see what we can do to sustain ourselves and develop our community together,” she said.

And one of the beneficiaries Alice Tembo, who had been looking after her two grandchildren since her daughter died, thanked the councillor for initiating the empowerment project.

She said even though the project looked small, it would help her to provide for her grandchildren.

“The councillor has really come to my rescue by introducing this programme, because since I lost my daughter in 2014, I have been struggling with my grandchildren. I have pay for their school feels and provide food and clothes for them, so for me this will go a long way,” she said.

Another beneficiary, Mr Mary Sampa implored other civic leaders in the country to emulate Ms Chinyanta.

She noted that a lot of women in Zambia were suffering and needed empowerment.

Truly, there is no doubt that if all women in Zambia were empowered, a lot of can be achieved because they are agents of change.

Extension officers essential in the development of agriculture

By ANN ZULU

THE issue of extension service has continued to be a challenge to most farmers in Zambia, because of the huge gap between the number of Agricultural Extension Officers (AEO) and the number of farmers needing their services.

Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, show a ratio of one extension officer on average assigned to about 1, 500 farmers, a situation that makes it difficult for small-scale farmers who need their services most to access extension services.

However, Chief Chipepo of the Tonga people of Southern Province observes that an average of one extension officer offers extension services to 3,000 farmers in some parts of Southern Province.

In an interview, Chief Chipepo stressed the need for Government to address the shortage of extension officers in the country as soon as possible, if the diversification of the economy to agriculture was to become reality.

“Government needs to be strong if we actually see the agricultural sector as an area to prioritise and then try to recruit more extension staff.

“This is because we have extension staff in the system who are trained by the government’s resources and afterwards end up being employed by individuals and private organisations that are into Agric, because Government is not employing them,” Chief Chipepo said.

Who are Extension Officers?

Extension officers serves as advisers, technicians and middlemen operating between agricultural research institutions and the farming communities. They also help farmers increase the productivity of their farms and improve their living standards.

They are change agents, consultants and advocate helping farmers to identify their problems and find their own solution. The work for the creation of community harmony essential for group projects.

In most developing countries such as Zambia, subsistence agriculture dominates the economy and for national progress to occur, change in agriculture is essential.

The Role of Extension Service

Agricultural extension service falls under the Ministry of Agriculture and it’s responsible for promoting the adoption and utilisation of new scientific farming practices through educational procedures.

Extension service role include acting as an intermediary between agricultural development institutions and target groups such as the farmer, women groups and youths; linking the farmer with sources of farming inputs and credit facilities; and providing timely information on new innovations and practices.

Importance of Extension Service

The importance of agricultural extension service in influencing productivity in the farming business cannot be underestimated.

According to agricultural expert John Bwalya, extension services should be considered a strategic investment, saying that even if land, water, seeds, production inputs and capital were made available but smallholder farmers remained uninformed, they would not be able to efficiently and productively use them.

“For Zambia’s agriculture to improve, farmers have no alternative but to learn and adopt recommended scientific farming techniques.  And for them to respond positively to new ideas they must be properly educated on how best to apply the new ideas or practices to their farming activities as the new ideas are often complex and technical,” he said.

Impact of absence of Extension Services on Agriculture Sector

Mr Bwalya noted that some farmers do not see the need to use improved seeds because they think it will require using more fertiliser and the produce may go bad early.

 “If we are not able to get the right information to farmers they won’t apply appropriate methods of farming so at the end they will still be getting lower yields which will end up impacting the total contribution of the agricultural sector to all of us,” Mr Bwalya said.

He added that the absence of extension services made it difficult for the Ministry of Agriculture itself to execute its own programmes as it tried to modernise the agriculture sector by coming out with new products, equipment and programmes including the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).

Mr Bwalya said since there were some areas where farmers did not have information on all of these programmes, it would be difficult to implement them in the absence of Extenstionj Officers.

Way forward

Government is aware of the shortage of extension officers’ situation in the country.

This is why as part of efforts to increase information access among farmers, earlier this year Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya approached Cabinet on the issue.

Ms Siliya noted that engaging additional officers would mitigate the shortage facing her ministry.

She said extension officers should be increased to acceptable standards to effectively address and communicate to government the challenges being faced by farmers.

“It is very difficult for the farmer to quickly send information to the extension officers who should then bring it to the attention of Government because this one officer has so many farmers to attend to,” Ms Siliya said.

However, the good news is that the issue of Extension Services might be lessen as Government is recruiting 472 more officers to boost its agriculture extension services.

Making the announcement last week, Agriculture Permanent Secretary Julius Shawa said improving inadequate Extension Officers in various districts would expand agricultural extension services and help drive diversified growth.

“Staffing levels are poor, with one camp officer attending to 1 000 farmers,” Mr Shawa said.

He also said plans were underway to buy motorbikes and build houses in various districts for Extension Officers.

Mr Shawa observed that the officers lacked adequate accommodation and transport, making it hard for them to do their jobs.

 “Some officers walk 30 kilometres to get to camps,” he said.

It is impossible for Government alone to address the challenge of Extension Services in the country, there is need for non-governmental organisations who were working with farmers and private institutions who could support to try and recruit extension staff to complement government’s efforts.

Prevent cervical cancer, avoid multiple sex partners, women told

By ANN ZULU

WOMEN who are sexually active have high chances of getting cervical cancer, says Dr Monde Mwapa, an expert.

Dr. Mwape explained that the most important risk factor for cervical cancer was Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection, which was usually spread through sexual activity with someone who had HPV infection.

“All women are at risk of getting cervical cancer but certain factors may increase a woman’s risk. For example women who are sexually active have high chances of getting the infection.

“Being sexually active or having many sexual partners, usually more than six sexual partners would increase a woman’s chances of cervical cancer because the risk of HPV infection is increased,” Dr Mwape said.

What is cervical cancer?

Cervical cancer is a disease in which cancerous cells form in the tissues of the cervix.

To describe it in the simplest form, the cervix is part of the female reproductive system and is located between the vagina and the body of the uterus (womb).

Cervical cancer usually develops slowly over time, before you can have cervical cancer, the normal cells of the cervix would usually go through stages where the normal cells slowly start changing to become abnormal.

This is known as cervical dysplasia. Most times these abnormal cells would progress into cancerous cells to become cervical cancer.

There are usually no signs or symptoms associated with cervical dysplasia or early cervical cancer. However, in its progressive stages of cervical cancer, the most common symptoms are pelvic pain and abnormal vaginal bleeding.

The situation of cervical cancer in Zambia

Cervical cancer remains the second most common cancer-affecting women in Zambia, second only to breast cancer.

According to a recent survey by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Zambia and Tanzania have the highest incidence of cancer of the cervix in Africa.

The country’s largest public health institution, University Teaching Hospital (UTH), has continued to diagnose more than two thousand cases of cervical cancer each year and most patients die.

In fact, more Zambian women are at risk since the country has over three million women over 15 years of age.

Causes

Cathy Zulu, a medical student at Mulungushi University says cervical cancer is largely due to lifestyle choices, which she said can controlled.

Ms Zulu agreed with Dr Mwape that having multiple sexual partners increased the risk of getting cervical cancer for a woman.

She however, noted that smoking could also cause cervical cancer.

“Most cervical cancer is caused by a Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), one can get HPV by having sexual contact with someone who has it.

“Smoking, including second hand exposure to cigarette smoking triples a woman’s chances of developing cervical cancer. It is advisable to quit smoking because it does a lot of harm to the body system as a whole,” Ms Zulu said.

Ms Zulu also observed that women with lowered immune system had a higher chance of developing cervical cancer.

“These people would have immune system deficiency and would be unable to prevent abnormal cells from turning into cancer cells,” she said.

She added that being overweight or obese and lack of exercise were other contributing factors for developing cervical.

“Proper balanced nutrition and frequent exercise is encouraged for optimal health and to reduce the chances of developing cervical cancer,” she said.

Prevention

All women are at risk of developing cervical cancer but there is hope knowing that it can be prevented.

In fact, cervical cancer is the easiest gynaecological cancer to prevent, but unfortunately, people largely underutilize preventive screening.

This may be due to ignorance, lack of awareness or laziness.

Ministry of Health spokesperson Dr Kennedy Malama has encouraged Zambian women to take advantage of cervical cancer screening services available in the country.

Dr Malama said cervical cancer could be prevented with regular screening tests.

“Women should learn to start taking their health more seriously. There are no early signs and symptoms for cervical cancer, it can be only be prevented with regular screening tests. The two screening tests that help prevent cervical cancer are The Pap Test and HPV Test. Pap smear is a test that can be done very quickly at the clinic.

“The doctor would insert a speculum into the vagina in order to be able to visualize the cervix and then uses a swab to scrape the cervix in order to get cervix cells that would be further examined in the lab. This procedure is minimally uncomfortable and it takes only a few minutes.

“Pap smear test looks for changes in the cells of cervix that are most likely to turn to cancer if left untreated. Pap smears are recommended once you turn 21 years and it’s done periodically till 65 years of age.

“The second screening test is the HPV test. The collected cells during the Pap test will be tested for Human Papilloma Virus in the lab.  This test is recommended for women over 30 years old. Both tests are recommended once in 3 years as long as your test results are normal,” Dr Malama said.

The number of women dying of cervical cancer in Zambia is totally unacceptable, especially because routine screening that is easily done, and is relatively inexpensive can easily prevent cervical cancer.

With proper screening, cervical cancer can be detected earlier and stopped.

There is need for intensified awareness about cervical cancer by talking to women and girls especially in rural areas and encourage them to get screened immediately if the fight was to be won.

Can a woman propose to a man?

By ANN ZULU

ZAMBIANS have expressed divergent views on whether a woman should propose marriage to her male partner.

Some, who spoke to this reporter in separate interviews said it was not advisable to do so.

A Lusaka-based marriage counsellor, Mercy Muchanga said there was nothing wrong with women proposing.

 “Women know who they are comfortable with to get married to so if a woman feels the guy is dragging his feet, I recommend she suggests marriage to him.

“She can simply ask him where the relationship is headed. She should give the man hints that show she is interested and create an atmosphere for him to pop the question if he is serious and if he still doesn’t, she should take the hint and move on,” she said.

Ms Muchanga, however, added that she would not advise women to make the final proposal.

“When a woman proposes by officially popping the question and getting him engaged, she gives him room to take her for granted and most men do take advantage of it.

“Men also don’t support the idea much because it makes them lose their voice of authority or leadership in the relationship which makes it boring,” she said.

Mr Davis Daka, a theological student, noted that the Bible didn’t support women proposing to men.

 “The Bible emphasises on men providing, instructing, leading and protecting their wives and family, so if a woman proposes, she is saying she wants to take up the man’s role.

“The Bible says wives should submit to their husbands as the husband is the head of the house as Christ is of the church and this submission refers to women following the lead of their husbands.

“It also says that he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord, not she who finds a husband.

“Women proposing to men might lead to some successful marriages, but in most cases the reverse is the case,” he said.

Mr Abdul Ibrahim, a Muslim, said it wasn’t wrong for women to propose marriage as far as it was done according to the Islamic rules.

“If a Muslim woman is interested in a man who is worthy of her, she is free to honourably approach him with a marriage proposal.

“This may be seen as improper to some Muslims from different cultures but it is a cultural attitude, not an Islamic one.

“She could do it indirectly by asking her parents to ask his parents or by requesting the assistance of a relative or mutual friend.

“If she decides to go herself, she has to abide by Islamic laws such as asking him for a meeting in public along with a friend or relative to act as a chaperone.

“She has to be mindful of her appearance and body language too,” he said.

Ms Trinah Kabwe, who recently got married, said that she doesn’t like the idea of women proposing to men.

“A woman is to be won like a prize, not to be given out like a souvenir, so the best she can do is to give the man signs that she is interested in getting married to him.

“By the second year of dating my husband, I had shown him marriage signs even by spending a couple of weeks at his place every now and then.

“At one point I asked him if we were cousins that were sharing a house and he responded no, two weeks later he proposed to me. Women just have to communicate indirectly,” Ms Kabwe said.

Mr Moses Hakalima, a bus driver, said he saw nothing wrong with women proposing as long as the women were ready to take up the responsibilities of the men.

“Proposing marriage means the person asking is willing to cater for the prospective partner and be responsible for the person.

“Therefore, if she wants to propose to a man, she should be willing to bear the marital responsibilities, which includes paying the groom price.

“If the man is willing to be a househusband while she works to finance the home she shouldn’t complain because she asked for it by proposing,” he said.

Mr John Bwalya, a Relationship Coach said there was nothing wrong with the proposal and that he viewed such women as bold individuals who were goal getters.

“I respect women who decide to do such because, it displays self-confidence and shows the woman is a goal getter, but that at times can be scary to some men.

“I have always imagined how I would propose to a girl but I’m scared of her saying no, therefore I will prefer to be proposed to.

“Our culture believes that the woman is made to look cheap if she does that, but if a woman is sure that she has found her man, she should grab him,” Mr Bwalya said.

Beware! Too much sex bad for you- expert

By ANN ZULU

OVER-INDULGING in sex could lead to serious health complications, says Diadem Centre for Health and Wellness Managing Director Dr Luckson Museteka.

And Dr Museteka has advised that a normal human being should only have sex three times in a week.

“Twice a week makes a healthy sex life, in fact, it has been calculated that a person below 35 should only have 100 organisms in a year.

“No matter how strong one can be, you can’t be having three-four times sex per day, it is not healthy,” Dr Museteka said.

He noted that although sex was a pleasurable act that had enormous health benefits, it also had side effects.

He said the side effects include prostrate problems for men, dehydration, lower back pain, bruises and soreness, injured nerves, strained muscles, fracture and heart attack for those who have heart-related problems.

 “Apparently the saying "too much of everything is bad" is also applicable to sex, regardless of how exciting it could be. During sexual activity, the body releases norepinephrine, epinephrine and cortisol which increase the heart rate and trigger the release of glucose in the blood.

“All these activities are tiring, especially when done frequently. Thus, indulging in sex several times a day will drain all your energy and leave you feeling exhausted most of the time.

“Too much sex can also worsen the health situations of people with heart problems. In other words, even though sex is good for the heart as it keeps increasing blood flow, it can lead to complications for people who have heart problems,” he said.

What are Zambian men afraid of?

By ANN ZULU

A WOMAN’S greatest emotional need is in the security and the quality of her relationship.

In fact, a woman is prepared to commit everything about her life in a relationship to make it work.

But sadly, many Zambian men do not want to know. They keep many women in frustration, suspension, anguish, despair and loneliness. What are Zambian men afraid of?

A Zambian man can meet a lady he loves and finds her just right for him, but he is at a loss to start a relationship.

Some are even crude in their approach. Others immediately attempt to bribe the woman with money and benefits for sex. Many lack self-esteem and look for others to win women for them and others wait too long and lose potential life partners.

When it comes to marriage, it is even worse. Most of them are scared of the famous principle of church marriage ‘a man leaves his family to live with his wife to become one flesh’.

There are many Zambian men in very good relationships where the women bend over to make the relationship exciting.

Everything works fine and the chemistry is right. They may be of age and in good professions. However, whenever the question of marriage comes up, the men go cold. They have lots of excuses.

Why the fear?

John Bwalya, a Relationship Coach notes that men were born competitors and providers, hence the fear to commit.

“Their greatest emotional needs are what they can achieve. They are, however, prone to failure. Men, therefore, avoid long-term relationships because of the high risk of failure. They always want to defend their ego.

“If they stay out and do not commit ourselves then they can’t fail and will, therefore, protect their ego. This may explain why many Zambian men opt for cohabitation because it enables them to leave relationships that have risk of failure. Men are actually the weaker sex,” Mr Bwalya said.

He said there was need for men to instead, develop a positive mental attitude about relationships and remove the fear to commit.

According to him, fear was the greatest obstacle to commitment.

“Fear will take away a man’s motivation to enjoy the beauty of true love. Men need to push away the fear, life is full of adventure or it is nothing.

“One don’t need to hide in their comfort zone and cheat themselves of the amazing benefit of relationships. If you share true love, you will not be afraid to love completely with trust, honesty and fairness.

“Men must let go of the fear to commitment. It is the only way to greater excitement, adventure, pleasure and blessing. There are enough verses to remind us each day not to fear. Nothing in life compares with a committed relationship,” he said.

Mr Bwalya added that marrying early also helped men to interact better and grow with their children.

He said there was no point delaying marriage unduly if a man was sure he loves a woman.

“You will never find a perfect partner and nobody can ever be fully prepared to marry. You can, however, find true love. Success may not come because you delayed.

“True love casts out fear and makes all mountains disappear because God has not given us the spirit of fear but boldness to honour Him,” he said.

Living with mental disorder ……disease on the rise as one million Zambians fall victim

By ANN ZULU

THE increasing cases of mental disorder in Zambia has become a source of concern for mental health experts and many Zambians who are now calling for adequate mental health facilities and personnel to curb it.

Mental disorder, also called mental illness, psychological disorder or psychiatric disorder, is a mental or behavioral pattern that causes either suffering or poor ability to function in ordinary life.

The causes of mental disorder are often unclear but common causes include drug abuse, depression, dementia, schizophrenia, discrimination and sometimes it is genetic.

Some of the signs and symptoms are disturbed or disruptive behaviour, unkempt appearance, and disorientation, distortion in perception, poor judgment and orientation.

According to latest statistics, more than a million Zambians suffer from mild and acute mental illness.

A tour across the major cities and towns in the country may reveal a lot of mental patients both young and old on the streets.

There is no doubt that the number of mentally deranged people patrolling the streets especially in cities have increased.

These persons mostly drink from the gutters and eat from refuge dump sites. They often carry large luggages full of rubbish.

The dangers they pose

Mental patients can sometimes be violent and they must not be ignored.

According to Melody Mulenga, a maketeer at Lusaka’s Soweto Market, male mental patients were very dangerous.

She said many male mental patients found on the markets often tried to attack women and still walked around freely.

She noted that some women marketeers have fallen victim and nothing had been done to their violators.

“The markets are no longer safe for women because of the increasing  number of mental patients; women are getting raped that sometimes they are even ashamed to report to the police or talk about it. Moreover even if they report nothing will be done because the offender is a mental patient,” she said.

State of Mental Health care In Zambia

Mental health care still remains a challenge in Zambia due to inadequate mental health facilities and personnel.

At the moment, the country only has one psychiatry hospital in Lusaka: Chainama Hills Hospital, which is not sufficient considering the increase in population and the number of people with mental problems.

John Mwale, a psychiatrist, said there is need to give priority to the management of mental disorder because its burden outweighed that of HIV.

Mr Mwale said mental illness was one of the major contributors to disease burden globally.

He said it was regrettable that the country only had one mental health institution at a time when the number of mental health patients was increasing.

He advised Government to prioritize the construction of more mental hospitals in all the 10 provinces.

“In Zambia, one out of seven persons will have serious mental illnesses, while one in four persons will have some form of mental disorder; and this is a conservative estimate.

“Mental health is one of the health conditions that has been seriously neglected in Zambia, hence the urgent need to give it priority before more lives are lost.” he said.

Attitude of family members

Some family members of the mentally challenged are not helping matters as they abandon their sick relatives, which has led to many mental patients roaming the streets.

Others, isolate and discriminate against them, while some take them to prayer camps to seek spiritual healing and in most instances the treatment they go through include starvation, physical assault and chaining for days, which eventually compound their situation.

Need for funds

Mental Health care, as a matter of urgency, needs regular and constant release of funds. It also needs more doctors and more members of staff to help curb the situation.

Goodwill ambassador for persons living with disabilities Elijah Ngwale said the release of more funds would go a long way to help remove mental patients from the streets.

“Gradually we can get rid of all the mental patients from the streets because the rate at which mental patients continue to pour on the street is very outrageous and much attention has to be given to it,” he said.

Way forward

Mental health care is a shared responsibility and therefore Government, benevolent individuals, families and other stakeholders must give it immediate intervention to help fix the challenges.

It is imperative for families, relatives and friends to desist from neglecting their mentally ill relatives; they should give them the needed attention and care not leave them to their fate.

Government should also be able to design systematic programmes and liaison with relevant bodies to clear mental health patients from the streets for people to go about their daily activities without fear.